Juan Mata: There's so much Mour to my game, Jose

The mercurial Spanish midfielder missed only five of the Blues’ 69 matches last ­season but has found himself cast as a bit-part player since the Special One returned to Stamford Bridge.

But Mata, mentioned as a potential ­makeweight in Chelsea’s attempts to sign Wayne Rooney in the summer, insists he is determined to fight his way back.

Starsport revealed earlier this week Mata has accepted Mourinho’s criticism that he needs to change his game after ­being shown stats to back up the Chelsea boss’s argument.

And the 25-year-old now insists he is ­willing to adapt to any role he is asked to play.

He said: “I have been working hard and want to show everyone that I can play and that everything is OK.

“In my career I have played in three ­different positions. In the beginning I was a left-winger, then I played on the right and last season as a No.10.

“I feel comfortable playing in any ­offensive position – it is better if a player can play in lots of different positions rather than just one.”

Mourinho watches Mata in action against Swindon [GETTY]

“I have been working hard and want to show everyone that I can play and that everything is OK”

Juan Mata

Mata must wait to see if his starring role in Tuesday’s Capital One Cup win at ­Swindon will make any difference when Mourinho picks his team to face Tottenham on Saturday.

He admits he has found it frustrating ­being made to wait in the wings.

“I’ve been training hard but it is not the same,” said Chelsea’s reigning player of the year. “You improve your rhythm by playing games. It is different to play than it is to train.

“It is easy for me to focus on my football and just do what I have to do.

“For me, the only thing in my mind is to keep working, training hard, and improving as a player, and to keep scoring and making assists.

“That is what I did at Swindon.

“I was really happy for the team and the result. It was a good performance, we scored two goals and it was enough to get us through to the next round.

“It wasn’t easy. Swindon are a team that like to play from the back – there were no long balls and they have quality.”

Mata has found himself victim to ­Mourinho’s demands that his creative ­players must not only bring an end product to their performances but do the donkey work in defence, too.

Chelsea assistant boss Steve Holland said: “It is no different for the ­attacking players – you cannot have a luxury ­player in the modern game because when you are out of possession everybody must contribute.”

It is a philosophy that has found £50m man Fernando Torres also having to prove himself again while Brazilian defender David Luiz is another yet to convince his new boss that his ability on the ball can make up for his lapses as a defender.

Luiz played both at the back and in ­midfield at Swindon and insisted ­afterwards: “I don’t need to prove anything. Everyone knows who David Luiz is.

“I want to play football and enjoy myself on the pitch, so when I have an opportunity to play I want to enjoy it.

“I am just one more player in the team. Sometimes the manager puts me in, sometimes not. It is his choice.

“Has the manager asked me to change my game? No. He asked me to play my football with high intensity, a high attitude from the start, like all the players. But that is why I am here.

“It will be a fantastic derby on Saturday – everyone will want to play in it. Spurs have a great team but we want to win because we want to be at the top of the table.”

Torres, who has started only one Premier League game, said: “A new manager ­always brings a different style and different ­ideas.

“We have been asked to achieve something fast, but it takes time.

“Manchester United and Manchester City also have a new manager, so they are in ­exactly the same situation. It is not an ­excuse, but it takes time.